90/4 Elmarit with Macro Attachment

[biglouis]

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Can someone explain to me what the attachment does and how to use it? How does it improve the function of the lens? Is it only a pair of goggles for the RF window or does it actually alter the lens itself?

 

LouisB

[ejd]

It's a short extension tube. The goggles correct the images in the viewfinder and rangefinder windows so that it shows the correct focus between 0.5 and about .75 metres. It also mounts the lens into the camera upside down, so that the close focussing scale faces upwards, and the other cam connects with the rangefinder wheel on the camera.

 

John

[twittle]

Basically, the adapter reduces the lens's minimum focus distance to 50cm rather than the its native 76cm (as stated above). It's a tad tricky becuase the parallax correction isn't perfect, but it's a good little system, and the lens produces good quality images. I use mine with some regularity. The adapter does not work with Leica's other 90mm lenses, only the Macro-Elmar-M.

[andit]

Hi Louis,

 

The 90mm Macro-Elmar is actually quite an amazing lens. It has two focus and depth of field scales. The normal one for use without the goggles - this lens is at the same time an excellent 90mm lens, albeit a bit on the slow side (f/4.0). Once you mount the goggles, the lens is actually mounted upside down to reveal the other close focusing scales (the red dot now sits at 180 degrees to the normal mount). It allows you to achieve 1:3 macro type images, while retaining rangefinder coupling. The goggles provide an image magnification in the viewfinder to correct for near focusing. It's a wonderfully compact system that can produce amazing images.

 

Andreas

[tgray]

I *just* got one of these and am really liking it so far. As far as I'm concerned, it is *the* travel 90mm. It's really small collapsed, and pretty small extended. While it seems like a nice portrait lens, the extra .25m of close focus distance lets you isolate details better over other 90mm options. Throw in the adapter, and you've got a system that will cover all 'macro' up to the scale right before the tiny bug type stuff. You're better off with an SLR for that. However, I'm never tempted to shoot that kind of stuff traveling. If you wanted to grab a shot of a flower or a close up of an engraving on a door, etc., this is perfect.

 

It's only down fall is f/4. It looks very sharp at this aperture, but it's a bit too slow for low light stuff. Then again, my other option was a 90mm Summarit. While that is faster, it's only 1 1/3 stops faster, so I'd still have problems indoors at night. Even if you have the Summicron, a 50 Summilux is probably a better choice for low light stuff.

 

But as stated before, the adapter is an extension tube and optics for the rangefinder. It provides some magnification for the rangefinder as well as correcting parallax.

[biglouis]

Thanks for all the responses. It is a lens which has intrigued me over the years.

 

LouisB

[marknorton]

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For a "travel" 90, I prefer the 90mm Elmarit which has an extra stop of speed and is about the same size as the Elmar with its hood fitted.

 

It's not clear to me whether the Elmar is available separately any more, seems to be only offered as a kit with the macro-adapter and finder.

 

You can have the macro adapter coded, it has its own code, but the camera still reports 90mm. Whether there is any unique processing carried out, I do not know.

[twittle]

You can have the macro adapter coded, it has its own code, but the camera still reports 90mm.

 

Not that it matters to me because I shoot film, but my adapter actually came coded.

[SJP]

I was looking ate the Macro elmarit last friday at our local store (Minderman) who had a special Leica demo day, including all the new lenses, cool....

 

If I understand correctly the only thing the Macro attachment does is bring the lens forward & recalibrate the rangefinder to the shorter focus distance. So the lens remains 90 mm. There is no optics in the Macro attachment between the lens and the film/sensor. I guess the rangefinder-cam movement is also just transmitted 1:1.

 

The next question would be. What happens if you mount a different focal length lens on the macro adapter? Could you do macro with a 28mm? Clearly Leica discourages this, but would it work from a lens mount/mechanics point of view? Are there macro extension rings for M-mount (same principle but without the sneaky goggles)?

[twittle]

If I understand correctly the only thing the Macro attachment does is bring the lens forward & recalibrate the rangefinder to the shorter focus distance. So the lens remains 90 mm. There is no optics in the Macro attachment between the lens and the film/sensor. I guess the rangefinder-cam movement is also just transmitted 1:1.

 

Yes, this is basically the case.

 

The next question would be. What happens if you mount a different focal length lens on the macro adapter? Could you do macro with a 28mm? Clearly Leica discourages this, but would it work from a lens mount/mechanics point of view? Are there macro extension rings for M-mount (same principle but without the sneaky goggles)?

 

Leica says the adapter won't work with any lens other than the Macro-Elmar-M. Presumably it could work in theory, but I've never tried, so I don't know. As far as other M extension tubes being currently available, I haven't heard of any.

[marknorton]

There's the OUTRO, for example, which is a simple extension ring but does not transmit the focussing cam position to the camera or provide the googles for the close up paralax correction. It's really only useful with the Visoflex (if I understand that beast correctly) and with the Panasonic G1 where the through-the-lens viewing allows accurate framing and focussing.

[tgray]

I think you are correct, this lens is no longer available separately, but many dealers still have them without the adapter. I'm not using a hood with it so I find it much smaller.

 

As far as using the adapter with other lenses, I'm sure you could, but I don't think they have the cam for proper focus. So you'd be guessing. Not that you couldn't do that...

[marknorton]

Since the lens mounts upside down, you would also have no aperture scale; on the 90/4, you can rotate the telescoping lens barrel through 180 degrees so that the aperture scale remains visible in macro mode.

[Delfi_r]

The Macro attachment it's 'merely' an extension tube with googles, and it will not work as intended on other lenses: the scale will not show up, the framelines will be those of a 90 mm lens, and the rangefinder will not be coupled.

 

If you want to go macro for the fun, try the Visoflex route: one Visoflex 2 or 3 with the 135 mm Tele-Elmar lenshead and proper adapters would be more apropiate, or the Bellows and a enlarger lens. Or a SLR directly.

 

But the Macro-Elmar it's a fine lens, in the daylight it's great and, if you want, you can go as close as 50 cm and it's a little thing that goes in my pocket, not like a Macro lens for a SLR. I'm using it more and more.

Edited April 7, 2009 by Delfi_r

[twittle]

I guess the rangefinder-cam movement is also just transmitted 1:1.

 

The next question would be. What happens if you mount a different focal length lens on the macro adapter? Could you do macro with a 28mm? Clearly Leica discourages this, but would it work from a lens mount/mechanics point of view? Are there macro extension rings for M-mount (same principle but without the sneaky goggles)?

 

I just attached my 75 Lux to the adapter to see what would happen. The cam movement is not the same as with the Macro-Elmar, so it would be quite difficult, I'd guess, to successfully shoot pictures with anything but the intended lens.

[SJP]

I think you can calculate a conversion table to figure out the focus distance to set on the lens barrel for a given macro distance. Then it would boil down to using a tape measure or another suitable guide for determining the distance to the subject.

 

Without macro adapter (v= object distance, b= image distance):

 

1/f=1/v+1/b

 

with macro adapter

 

1/f=1/v+ 1/(b + m)

 

where m = the macro ring insert thickness. The lens barrel marking gives b+v (object to image plane distance) so it requires some sneaky manipulations.

 

If someone can give me the macro focus scale setting and the corresponding non macro distance (the standard lens markings) I can make an excel file.

 

This could be checked by making a picture of a ruler.

[masjah]

I think you can calculate a conversion table to figure out the focus distance to set on the lens barrel for a given macro distance. Then it would boil down to using a tape measure or another suitable guide for determining the distance to the subject.

 

Without macro adapter (v= object distance, b= image distance):

 

1/f=1/v+1/b

 

with macro adapter

 

1/f=1/v+ 1/(b + m)

 

where m = the macro ring insert thickness. The lens barrel marking gives b+v (object to image plane distance) so it requires some sneaky manipulations.

 

If someone can give me the macro focus scale setting and the corresponding non macro distance (the standard lens markings) I can make an excel file.

 

This could be checked by making a picture of a ruler.

 

Srephen

 

Just as a matter of interest, I've always wondered whether the relatively simple "linearised" lens theory gives an accurate enough result for a relatively complex multi-element lens, as distinct from a simple mensicus. Do you find it works well enough in practice?

[SJP]

John,

 

Good point! Probably the simple lens formulas do not work too well for this sort of stuff if you are using a retrofocus design wide angle where the lens barrel is considerably longer than the nominal focal length. For the longer lenses the esp. the non telephoto designs like the good old Hector the errors should be pretty small. But as a first estimate it should be acceptable unless you start hitting the "extreme macro" range at say 30cm or less.

 

My calculations for depth of field etc. also were done using the simple lens formulas and agree with the lens barrel markings remarkably well. See here & here.

 

Obviously these formulas are no good at all when you get to abberations, curvature of field etc.

 

Stephen

[edwardyee]

May I know if this Macro lens will work on M8? thanks.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[wizard]

May I know if this Macro lens will work on M8? thanks.

 

It sure will.

 

Andy